Hating Changdong

"My Liu family will stop you."

Master Liu didn't slam his fist on the table or raise his voice, but many people in the hall relaxed their backs a little.

He observed everyone's expressions and continued, "The Liu family's practice of collecting village protection fees is filthy. If you don't collect them, who will patrol the village at night for you? Who will stop the bandits at the crossroads for you? Who will cover up the bad debts in your gambling dens?"

"Buying a wife sounds bad, I know that."

"But poor people in the countryside can't find wives, so the family line ends, no one farms the fields, and no one takes care of the elderly in their final days, and the village falls apart."

When A-Yue heard the words "buy a wife," her shoulders hunched over.

Xu Yanqing gritted his teeth. He found Liu Sanye's words absurd, but having not read many books, he didn't know how to refute them.

This mindset was shared by most people present.

The Liu family is a behemoth, oppressing all the people of Changluo County. It is only natural for them to fear the Liu family, and obeying the Liu family has become an ingrained reaction.

Master Liu's tone softened slightly:

"Being in debt for gambling sounds bad, but if you don't pay it back, the gambling den will close down, the town's finances will dry up, merchants won't come, shops will close, employees will go home, and many people will go hungry."

"The village protection fee sounds even worse. Without this money, what would the guards eat, where would they get their knives, and where would they get their horses?"

"The Liu family is filthy, but dirty rules are better than no rules at all."

No one spoke in the hall for a long time, and neither did the people outside.

They hated the Liu family, but they were also afraid of chaos.

Some families had women they bought, some had sons who were in debt from gambling, some villages survived the winter thanks to the Liu family borrowing grain, and some shops were able to stay open only because the Liu family suppressed local thugs.

Now that the Liu family has fallen, will they be better off?

One of the commoners whispered, "Third Master's words are not entirely without merit."

The people next to him glared at him, and he immediately shut up.

Upon hearing this, Master Liu realized that the situation was irreversible, and he looked at Shen Gui.

"Sir, you killed with great swiftness; I admire you."

"But what happens after you've killed them all?"

"Now that you've taken Chen Ayue away today, the rules are in chaos. Tomorrow, all the women bought from the twenty-six villages will run away, those who owe money will default on their debts, people from the mountains will come down, and those without money will rob grain."

"At that time, who will clean up the mess in Changluo County?"

"You?"

Shen Gui looked up.

Master Liu met his gaze.

Just a breath.

Those below couldn't discern anything, only perceiving that the two men standing together represented a knife on one side and a scale on the other.

One side is to be beheaded.

One side needs to be weighed.

Shen Gui turned his head: "Xu Yanqing."

"Understood!" Xu Yanqing understood immediately and unfolded the letter that had been hidden for many years.

"Don't make the same mistake again." Master Liu's voice came.

"Read it," Shen Gui said.

The two voices, one after the other, represented two different attitudes.

Xu Yanqing held the letter and looked around. He saw many familiar faces. Their mouths were moving, as if they were saying, "Don't read it. Going against Master Liu will only lead to a bad end."

Xu Yanqing's gaze was firm. He shook his head at the acquaintance, then looked down at the letter. His voice was a roar, like a volcano that had been suppressed for a long time before suddenly erupting.

"Ah Yue was forced into it! She didn't want to get married!"

"What utter nonsense! I'm uneducated and narrow-minded! All I know is that A-Yue's life is very hard, and it's all the Liu family's fault!"

Xu Yanqing held the letter high, showing it to Master Liu, the local gentry, and the people at the door.

The roar grew hoarse towards the end, piercing everyone's ears.

Xu Yanqing held the letter up to A-Yue: "This is what you wrote. It has your old home address. You even said back then that your father would definitely look for you, and that your mother was sick and would definitely want to see you!"

Looking at the letter, A-Yue felt as if she were seeing something very, very far away, separated by the locust tree at the village entrance, by Zhou Laizi's hand, by the seal of the county government, and by the sound of door bolts in the night, returning to her former home.

Her lips moved: "Mother..."

Master Liu's brows were already furrowed; he knew he couldn't let things continue like this.

He waved his hand, and servants rushed out to surround the entire courtyard, blocking the view of the people at the gate.

Inside the hall, Master Liu looked at Chen Ayue seriously for the first time. There was no disgust or anger in his eyes, and he even showed a gentleness that an elder would show to a younger generation.

"Ah Yue".

Upon hearing those two words, A-Yue unconsciously took a step back.

"Don't be afraid. With so many people here today, I, Liu, won't hit you or scold you." Third Master Liu's tone softened further. "Has the Zhou family given you any food?"

A-Yue shook her head.

Master Liu then asked, "Did they give you a cotton-padded coat for winter?"

Ah Yue shook her head even more violently.

Master Liu didn't urge him, but slowly said, "I know Zhou Laizi is not a good person, but the Zhou family took you in, the county government stamped the document, and the village chief signed it. You lived in the Zhou family for three years."

"According to the laws of Yan State, the old judgments of Changluo County, and the village rules, are you a member of the Zhou family?"

Under immense pressure, A-Yue's eyes began to glaze over, and she started to become somewhat deranged again.

She wanted to hide behind that gray dress.

But Shen Gui took a step, exposing Third Master Liu's gaze once again.

It was as if A-Yue had returned to the place where she was captured. No one could protect her, and all she could do was lower her head, lower and lower.

"You were abducted! Tell me!" Xu Yanqing couldn't help but take a half step forward.

Chief Feng, his hand on the hilt of his knife, took a step forward, his eyes icy: "Do you even have the right to speak here?"

Xu Yanqing's face turned pale, but he did not back down.

Shen Gui glanced at Chief Feng, who then choked on the rest of his sentence.

Third Master Liu raised his hand, signaling Chief Feng to shut up:

"Chen Ayue, I saw the letters you wrote before. But can a letter really change the county government's seal?"

"Is it possible to amend the marriage contract?"

"Can you change the fact that you've been in the Zhou family for three years? Since ancient times, a woman has followed her husband wherever he goes. Why are you still so stubborn?"

A-Yue looked at the ground and saw a little mud in the cracks between the bricks.

She stared at the patch of mud, recalling the villagers' comments when she was naked and tied to the tree, Zhou Laizi's vile curses, and many other things...

These voices came from the deepest part of her mind, weaving together a cage that trapped her inside.

Someone is laughing.

Someone is cursing.

Someone threw their rice bowl at her feet.

Some people say, "Why are you running? You're a member of the Zhou family, and you'll die a member of the Zhou family."

Master Liu continued, "Ah Yue, today I will not ask about outsiders or Xu Yanqing, I will only ask about you."

The people outside couldn't see inside, but they could hear the sounds. Now that things had come to this point, many people, for reasons unknown, actually wanted to hear Ah Yue say "no."

Perhaps A-Yue's rejection was their last struggle.

However, when the common people saw the long knife carried by the servants, not one of them dared to utter a sound.

Inside, Master Liu's voice came through steadily and clearly:

"Ah Yue, are you a woman from the Zhou family?"